She is not sure she would have liked him, but she was interested enough in the journal that she paid more than $200 for it on eBay to bring it home to Brimfield.

Ms. Beall said the journal covers 50 years of farming at what was one of Brimfield's largest farms, with extensive information on transactions, both what was sold and how it was paid for, but offers little insight into the day-to-day life on the McIntyre Road farm during the half-century the records were kept.

"During this 50-year period, a whole lot of things were going on in his family," she said. "His father died in 1824. He married three times. Not a whisper. He had three children born during the period of his journal. Nothing is in there."

Ms. Beall said that in reading the extensive journal, she developed a sense that he was a hard-nosed farmer and businessman. She said all the household activities seemed to be beneath him, based on a near total lack of personal insight.

"I find that a little cold," she said. "Is that fair? Maybe not."

The only thing close to personal in the journal was a mention that a strong storm caused $1,500 damage to his farm. Ms. Beall said she found that interesting in light of the June 2011 tornado that ripped through Brimfield. Adjusted for inflation, the damage to Mr. Charles' farm would be a little under $28,000 in 2014 dollars.

What she discovered in reading every page of the journal, and some pages several times, was an entry for Sept. 23, 1815, indicating a storm caused the $1,500 in damage. But the journal offered no other insight.

"Did a roof fly off his barn? He doesn't tell. Did a tornado take out his apple orchard? I have no clue," she said.

Although the terse ledger makes little mention of the storm or specific damage, the date was significant. It was the day the Great September Gale of 1815 hit New England. The hurricane, according to a listing of major storms in the state Department of Pubic Safety's web page, was the first hurricane to hit New England in 180 years and caused 38 deaths and millions of dollars in damage. At its height, it had sustained winds of 135 miles per hour.

Ms. Beall said the journal was found in a farm on Soutbridge Road owned at one time by Abraham Charles, one of Mr. Charles' sons. It was in a box of books in the attic and likely ended up there in 1860. It was sold to her by a Connecticut dealer.

Although it lacks a personal touch, it does offer an interesting look at certain aspects of farming life. It was written entirely with a quill pen, and some of the transactions listed in the ink-smudged journal include the sale of veal for 5 cents a pound, a cord of chestnut wood, cider (spelled "cyder"), sales of butter, cheese and many other items which were paid for in dollars, shillings or trade of goods or labor. The labor took the form of such things as one day of work "dressing flock."

The payments were not always immediate.

"Sometimes they would be spread over three years before they would make a settlement," she said.

Ms. Beall said she found it interesting from a modern standpoint that the journal, which showed transactions from at least 84 individual trading partners, was done entirely from the farm.

"These are face-to-face transactions," she said. "He doesn't have a telephone call. He doesn't get email. Each one of these requests represents an interruption in his work day."

Ms. Beall said Mr. Charles did not have a store. It was all done at his farm, out of his barns and sheds.

"Somebody had to get there with a horse or wagon and trade something," she said.

Another insight she has found in the journal and as a member of the Brimfield Historical Commission is that, contrary to what some people say, people in the 1700s and 1800s were not generally self-sufficient. She said they couldn't run their farm without trade.

"They would need to raise a surplus and sell it," she said.

Mr. Charles' major commodities were wood of all kinds, both cordwood and lumber, cheese of all kinds, butter, cider and hay. Less common, but still major products, were potatoes, corn, wheat and wheat flour, buckwheat apples and pork. He would also sometimes sell fish, including cod, even through Brimfield is far from the ocean.

Ms. Beall speculates the cod was salt cod purchased from the local market, and that he would sell some if he had any extra.

One interesting account, she said, was that of a man named Thomas Stone, who would, seven or eight times each month, buy two gallons of cider from Mr. Charles. Eventually he graduated to a 6 gallon jug. Ms. Beall said there is no evidence Mr. Stone was a storekeeper, but he kept up regular cider trade with the Charles farm.

Also of note, Ms. Beall said that of the 84 trading partners, only two were women. There was also no evidence in the journal of Mr. Charles hiring anyone to work in his dairy and milk his 17 cows or turn the milk to butter and cheese. She said that may have been because women did the dairy work.

The journal also indicates Mr. Charles sold little milk, likely because butter and cheese were value-added products, worth more than plain milk.

The journal will be kept in the town library, and Ms. Beall said there is still much opportunity for historical analysis for scholars or students looking to do a project. Although it is sometimes difficult to read, especially in the final years when Mr. Charles' health was failing, it offers an opportunity to better understand Brimfield's history.

Contact George Barnes at george.barnes@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @georgebarnesTG.